Despite being intended for kids, Batman: The Animated Series didn’t shy away from delving into heavy and mature themes, making it the most definitive version of Batman to be put on screen. Following in its footsteps, Bruce Timm would go on to work in several more acclaimed DC animated projects, with the most notable of them all being 1999’s Batman Beyond.
And while 1999 wasn’t the best time for the caped crusader following the failure of Batman & Robin, Batman Beyond‘s success was enough to warrant a feature film, Return of the Joker. Even though many count it among the best Batman animated films out there, on par with 2010’s Under the Red Hood, unfortunately, meeting the release guidelines for the film was torturous for Timm.
Re-Editing Return of the Joker for its DVD Release Was a Torture for Bruce Timm
While Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond did tackle mature themes, with Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Bruce Timm made the IP way edgier. From involving more violence and darker overtones, Return of the Joker pushed the boundaries of the medium. Unfortunately, during the 2000s, pop culture as a whole was under heavy scrutiny from fans following the violence depicted in media. This made it unfeasible for WB to release the animated feature in its initial state. As a result, Timm was forced to censor the film for its DVD release.
Even though things eventually worked out, as the uncut version eventually got released in 2002, censoring it for the initial DVD release was painful for the American animator. In an interview with World’s Finest and Toon Zone, Timm explained:
“Well, I’d probably be a little less adamant about pushing for such edgy material…bottom line is that the home video dept. markets their cartoons directly at children. I’m very proud of ROTJ, but a ‘kid-friendly’ movie it definitely isn’t! I mean, ultimately, it all worked out; they got the ‘age-appropriate’ version they wanted (kind of!), and we fans eventually got the nastier version WE wanted, but that whole editing and Re-editing process that we went through was torture. Like cutting the fingers off your own baby.”
While Return of the Joker remains Batman Beyond‘s only feature film, a sequel was once in the works that unfortunately never materialized.
Return of the Joker’s Poor Sales Didn’t Justify a Sequel
Per Bruce Timm, a sequel to Return of the Joker was set to move forward, which would’ve involved Catwoman as its main antagonist. However, following the poor sales of ROTJ, the idea was ultimately scrapped.
Speaking at the Batman Beyond 20th Century Panel at San Diego Comic-Con, he explained:
“Catwoman was going to be our leading villain in the second movie,” said Timm. “She was the one who cloned Bruce Wayne to create Terry, but that was going to be our big surprise in our next movie.”
Even though the uncut version is undoubtedly the definitive version of ROTJ, the censored edition still holds up pretty well, as at its core, the film was about pain, regret, failure, and redemption.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is available to stream on Max.
